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Induced Labor Linked to Autism Risk

Aug. 20, 2013|278 views

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In recent
years, several factors have been identified that may be linked to an increased
risk of having a baby with autism. Living in an area with heavy air pollution
during pregnancy is one such risk. Undergoing induced labor may be another.

Researchers
at Duke Medicine and the University of Michigan looked at records of past
births for associations between the method of birth and the risk that a child
would later be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. A possible link had
been proposed previously, but the new study is the largest of its kind to
examine the issue.

More than
600,000 birth records were reviewed. For male children, the risk of being
diagnosed with autism was 35% higher if labor was both induced and augmented.
Inducing labor involves using prostaglandins, or synthetic oxytocin, to
stimulate contractions before labor occurs spontaneously. Augmentation refers
to procedures used to boost the strength, frequency or length of contractions.
It usually involves intravenous administration of Pitocin, the synthetic form
of oxytocin, a hormone that is produced naturally during labor.

The
scientists were quick to point out that the findings do not amount to proof
that induced/augmented labor CAUSES autism, merely that there seems to be an
association between the two. Induction and augmentation are useful tools that
have “remarkably decreased the risk of stillbirth,” experts note. The potential
link might have more to do with underlying conditions during pregnancy, which
lead to the need for induction in the first place. At the very least, the
finding might give doctors pause before inducing labor simply for the sake of
convenience.